Inuit to share stages across Canada for National Aboriginal Day

APTN to host special seven-hour broadcast from eight cities

By NUNATSIAQ NEWS

Beatrice Deer and her band perform in Montreal in 2015. Deer, originally from Quaqtaq and now living in Montreal, will co-host Ottawa’s National Aboriginal Day concert at Major’s Hill Park June 21. (FILE PHOTO)

APTN will host a special seven-hour broadcast from live concerts across the country, from Halifax to Vancouver and Yellowknife, on National Aboriginal Day, and the summer solstice, June 21.

Canada 150th National Aboriginal Day celebrations will unfold in eight cities across the country June 21, with many Inuit performers on the bill.

The Ottawa celebration, which takes place downtown just east of Parliament Hill at Major’s Hill Park, will be co-hosted by Quaqtaq’s Beatrice Deer and feature a performance by Salluit’s Elisapie.

The pre-show starts at 5:15 p.m. and Ottawa’s live concert will run from 7 p.m. to 9:30.

But you don’t have to be in Ottawa or other southern cities to see the shows. APTN will be hosting a seven-hour live broadcast—“the largest in its history”—with more than 70 performances at venues across the country from Halifax to Vancouver and Yellowknife.

A May news release from APTN says the broadcast, which can also be accessed on radio and online, promises, “a fusion of musical genres, languages, styles, and interdisciplinary arts from the First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples come together on stage to paint an exciting living experience of contemporary Aboriginal expression.

“Throat-singing and beat box mix-up in Inuktitut and French, artists from across the North creating the first ever Inuit throat singing choir, and hosts outfitted with the hottest jewelry and clothing from Aboriginal designers are but a few examples. This year will showcase the unparalleled talent that is woven into the tapestry of all Nations that make up the mosaic of this country.”

Inuit performers will be sharing multiple stages with internationally acclaimed artists such as Daniel Lanois, Nelly Furtado and Classified June 21. Those Inuit performers include:

• Halifax: Quaqtaq-raised Saali and the Ravenhearts

• Montreal: Kuujjuaq’s Sinuupa

• Toronto: Susan Aglukark

• Winnipeg: Baker Lake’s Nelson Tagoona

• Edmonton: Rankin Inlet’s Kathleen Ivaluarjuk Merritt

• Vancouver: Iqaluit’s The Trade Offs

For more information and full concert National Aboriginal Day daytime and evening line-ups, go here.

If you’re in Iqaluit for Aboriginal Day, head over to Iqaluit Square downtown at noon for a country food barbecue. There will also be a throat singing demonstration and Inuit games at the Elder’s Qammaq at 1 p.m. and then a performance from teh Inuksuk Drum Dancers in the Qammaq at 2 p.m.